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Thursday, December 08, 2005

STEVIE WONDER NOMINATED FOR SIX GRAMMY AWARDS

Universal Motown icon Stevie Wonder picked up six Grammy nominations today, five for his recently released album, A Time To Love, his first studio album in more than 10 years, featuring 15 new Wonder classics. The new disc, one of the premier Motown releases of this decade, was nominated for Best R&B Album, with the title track (featuring label mate India.Arie) being nominated for Best Pop Vocal Collaboration With Vocals. Other nominations include Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: So What The Fuss, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: From The Bottom Of My Heart, and Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or A Group With Vocals: How Will I Know, featuring Stevie's daughter Aisha Morris. Stevie was also honored in that category for his duet with Beyonce for So Amazing, for their contribution to the An All-Star Tribute To Luther Vandross CD. The nominations for the 48th Annual Grammy Awards were announced in New York City this morning, with the awards being handed out on February 8th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and to broadcast live on CBS. For the prolific Wonder, who has already won 22 Grammy's and has received the prestigious Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, the six nods are confirmation that A TimeTo Love's evocative themes of the restorative power of love are connecting with both peers and fans. Other highlights of A Time To Love include If Your Love Cannot BeMoved,(featuring Kim Burrell), Positivity, (also featuring his daughter Aisha Morris), and the uplifting Shelter In The Rain, featuring gospel legend Kirk Franklin directing the angelic chorus on a song which has been embraced as asoothing anthem of inspiration for victims and survivors of the devastating hurricanes that ravaged the gulf coast. A Time To Love also includes guest appearances by Prince and Sir Paul McCartney, who plays acoustic and electric guitar on the title track. Shelter In The Rain, was specially serviced to Gospel and Christian radio stations, with all proceeds from the single directed to Stevie's charity organization The Wonder Foundation, which has earmarked the donations for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. For more than four decades, Stevie Wonder has remained one of the most profound artists of our lifetime, selling more than 70 million records worldwide, and receiving hundreds of honors and awards throughout his career. A tireless humanitarian and champion for political and social justice,Wonder was the preeminent force behind the Martin Luther King holiday and USA For Africa, as well as helping to raise awareness about the AIDS epidemic and the scourge of Apartheid in South Africa. A leading voice in the fight against world hunger, Wonder also led a "Charge Against Hunger" in conjunction with American Express, which raised over $150 million dollars to feed nearly six million African Americans yearly. Most recently, Wonder was honored bythe United Negro College Fund's Evening Of Stars Tribute to the artist, for his longtime work on behalf of the UNCF. As a special treat for his hometown Motown fans, Stevie Wonder is scheduled to perform at the pre-game show for the Superbowl XL at Detroit'sFord Field on February 5th.